Training For Speed

TRAINING FOR SPEED
By Darryl Nelson

OK, now that the title of this article has your attention we need to clarify a few things before we can learn about becoming faster. First, we must realize that top end speed never really happens in team sports like ice hockey. However, what does happen a lot is acceleration. Changes of pace, changes of direction, and starts and stops are things that happen all the time in ice hockey. These things are all examples of acceleration and not speed.

We know, from track and field, that reaching absolute speed takes 7 seconds and occurs over distances of up to 60 meters. This represents the entire length of the rink. How often does a player skate in a straight line without any contact for the entire length of the rink? Now I hope you can see the point that I am trying to make. When people talk about speed what they are really referring to is acceleration. However, if I titled this article "Training for Acceleration" it is likely that fewer people would read it.

How do we train for acceleration? What really determines one's ability to accelerate is strength and power. Acceleration requires putting a lot of force into the ground. In fact, how much force a player puts into the ice is the number one thing that will determine how fast he or she can move. Therefore, a good strength training program is of paramount importance for becoming faster.

There are several aspects of strength training in particular that are very significant for increasing acceleration. One aspect is performing Olympic style lifts such as cleans, jerks, and snatches. These lifts are very important because they require the athlete to put huge amounts of force into the ground in a very short amount of time. Next on the list of must do exercises is squatting. In particular, single leg squatting exercises like one leg squats and rear foot elevated squats are extremely important. These exercises are valuable because they are the best way to strengthen the glute, hamstring, and quadriceps muscles.

Next up on the list of must do exercises are resisted running and acceleration runs. There are several great ways to incorporate this type of training. There are sleds that can be loaded with weights for pushing and pulling such as the ‘Sled Dawg' and the ‘Drive Sled'. Also, athletes can push cars and achieve the same type of resisted running training. One can also get resistance simply by running against a partner's resistance. Resisted running is great because it involves locomotion. In other words, the foot pushes the ground and is then picked up off the ground before it pushes again. Think of this as an "athletic leg press" or "sports specific leg press". Also, acceleration runs are easy to incorporate because they require very minimal equipment. Drills such as short races or tag games to a distance of 10 yards are great. These enhance short bursts of power that are used all the time in ice hockey.

Another great form of training for acceleration is resisted skating. Although I do not train players on the ice I believe this type of training is very important. A great tool for this type of training is the ‘Pave Sled'. The Pave Sled can be loaded with weights and it is designed to be used on the ice. This is great because it allows the players to work through the resistance of the sled while incorporating the use of their edges. Edge work is something that cannot be attained off ice. Therefore, this type of training can be very effective.

So when training for acceleration, remember that force into the ground is very important. Do not waste time worrying about things like ‘quick feet' drills or some gimmicky shoes for jogging. Force production is far more important than foot speed.